Book Review: Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald

Cheese and rice, but poor Eva suffers everything but a house falling on her head in this thriller that seems to feel compelled to heap every possible tragedy on the characters. From the opening pages, I struggled with this one. It just felt like too much – too much drama, tragedy, misdirection, uncertain menace, questionable decision-making and coincidental and disbelief-suspending detail. And if you think that list is long, wait until you get a load of the parade of horribles that comprise the story!

I really liked The Night Olivia Fell – it was a moving and complex story about the relationship between a mother and daughter, as well as a psychological thriller, and it’s precisely that complexity that intrigued and hooked me. I was delighted when I saw that McDonald had a new book. True, from the beginning it seemed a little overly-similar to other amnesia books of recent vintage, but I was willing to overlook that – until I realized that the characters were utterly unlikeable, in nearly all their forms, and that the torturous circumstances of all of their lives felt like a soap-opera melodrama…

This book felt like it was trying *REALLY HARD* to be everything possible in a thriller of its type. There were just so many things going on – past, present, and future – that it was overwhelming to read them all. On top of that, Eva and Kat are, frankly, difficult characters to relate to or feel empathy for – despite all of their sufferings, and hating to sound like I’m victim-blaming, it was difficult to gin up any sympathy because they made so many poor decisions and/or were so wishy-washy so often. It meant I was annoyed when something else horrific happened, rather than concerned or worried – and that made the read tough for me because I simply could not find myself falling into their point of view. And in a book that alternates POV between two characters, both of whom I dislike, the resultant read for me is rough-going…

This one just felt like it was trying too hard. It got much better in the end – there were a couple of revelations I did not see coming, and the pacing evened out a lot. That, coupled with a handful of decisions (and explanations for decisions) that felt like they finally made sense, meant that the pages flew by and the story became more enjoyable. It wasn’t enough to drive me to four stars, because it felt like too little, too late, but it did help. If the first 3/4 of the book had followed that tone/pacing, this would have been a phenomenal read. As it was, I can only go with three stars. I’d still try McDonald’s next offering – she’s a strong writer and compelling relater of complex relationships when she’s in her stride…

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.